Tech school's Newtown success prompts expansion

Published: Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 8:59 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 8:59 p.m.

The geometry question was simple enough, "What is a parallelogram?" But Yolanda Charles, feeling embarrassed, couldn't help her 7-year-old grandson. Charles, 48, had not been in a classroom since she quit high school at age 16 to have a baby and work as a hotel housekeeper. Now her five children have diplomas and the Sarasota resident has decided it is her turn. "It's time for me to better me," she said.

Facts

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When the new North Port satellite campus opens in the spring, it is expected to run from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Special classes may be held on Saturdays.

The cost to attend will depend on residency. Florida residents would pay $45 per semester to get a GED or high school diploma or pay $2.70 per hour for vocational training. Out-of-state residents pay four times more.

Sarasota County Schools will hire an administrator to oversee the program, a security guard, a secretary and eight or nine part-time teachers, all of which will cost about $225,000 annually, said Todd Bowden, director of the Sarasota County Technical Institute.

The biggest logistical issue in using North Port High School is finding enough space for SCTI to have an office on campus, Bowden said.

For more information, contact SCTI, 924-1365.

She is back in school this fall, less than a month from her GED exam, attending classes through Sarasota County Technical Institute in a satellite campus in the Newtown neighborhood. More than 300 people who need job training or a certificate or a diploma have enrolled at the two-year-old satellite campus, a success that has SCTI starting a similar satellite in North Port. The idea is to take the job training into the neighborhoods that need it most.

In Newtown, unemployment hovers at an estimated 25 percent and many rely on public transportation.

North Port is a 40-minute drive from the main campus at SCTI in a part of the county that has been hard-hit by the housing market's drop. Unemployment there is about 9 percent, the same as in the rest of Sarasota County.

Todd Bowden, director of SCTI, says the new North Port program is not something he dreamed up — the community asked for it.

"I really expect it to take off," he said. "I have a feeling once we get going, the need will be evident.

Retraining and retooling

The SCTI classes will be held at North Port High School starting in the spring. Once the high school students leave for the day, the adult education program will operate into the evening.

Enrollment is expected to reach 150 to 200 students, with classes for obtaining a GED or high school diploma, learning a trade or mastering English as a second language.

Some students will walk away with a nurse's license from the state board, or certified in some other industry like business, culinary arts or IT.

The eight or nine classes per semester will largely be geared to people who have lost their jobs, Bowden said: "When somebody is laid off, they use that as an opportunity to retrain."

Using North Port High School as a site will likely attract young people who aren't attending four-year colleges, said Allan Lane, the city's economic development manager.

"We're trying to retrain and retool our workforce so they'll be ready when the jobs are available," he said. "If we can get our young people trained for those skills, that means they're ready to go in the workforce a lot quicker. That's a good thing."

Drilling down, looking up

On a recent morning at the SCTI satellite campus in Newtown, Charles stood in front of a whiteboard doing math problems with her tutor Mark Morin looking over her shoulder.

Morin read a story problem that required Charles to calculate how much a man's restaurant tip was — it came to 12.5 percent

Around her, other volunteers — a retired teacher, a former pediatrician — tutored students one-on-one. Their muffled voices could be heard as Morin high-fived Charles when she answered a problem right.

The campus in Newtown, one of the poorest areas of Sarasota, is hardly glamorous.

The turquoise building on Osprey Avenue feels like a trailer with a narrow hallway and small classrooms separated by cubicles.

Some students are in their 40s and 50s; others are convicted felons who have trouble finding a job, especially in a down economy.

"Everybody comes here from educational backgrounds that are pretty much failures," Morin said.

This is a place for second chances.

The campus makes it easier for those who do not own a car or cannot afford gas instead of traveling to the institute's main campus, seven miles miles away, said Lorna Alston, the city's Newtown economic development coordinator.

"It's significant because it removes a barrier," Alston said.

Charles does not know exactly what her future holds after she takes her GED test in early December, but she knows she wants to be in charge.

"I want to be a supervisor instead of someone telling me what to do," she said.

<p>The geometry question was simple enough, "What is a parallelogram?" But Yolanda Charles, feeling embarrassed, couldn't help her 7-year-old grandson. Charles, 48, had not been in a classroom since she quit high school at age 16 to have a baby and work as a hotel housekeeper. Now her five children have diplomas and the Sarasota resident has decided it is her turn. "It's time for me to better me," she said.</p><p>She is back in school this fall, less than a month from her GED exam, attending classes through Sarasota County Technical Institute in a satellite campus in the Newtown neighborhood. More than 300 people who need job training or a certificate or a diploma have enrolled at the two-year-old satellite campus, a success that has SCTI starting a similar satellite in North Port. The idea is to take the job training into the neighborhoods that need it most.</p><p>In Newtown, unemployment hovers at an estimated 25 percent and many rely on public transportation. </p><p>North Port is a 40-minute drive from the main campus at SCTI in a part of the county that has been hard-hit by the housing market's drop. Unemployment there is about 9 percent, the same as in the rest of Sarasota County.</p><p>Todd Bowden, director of SCTI, says the new North Port program is not something he dreamed up — the community asked for it.</p><p>"I really expect it to take off," he said. "I have a feeling once we get going, the need will be evident.</p><p><b>Retraining and retooling</b></p><p>The SCTI classes will be held at North Port High School starting in the spring. Once the high school students leave for the day, the adult education program will operate into the evening.</p><p>Enrollment is expected to reach 150 to 200 students, with classes for obtaining a GED or high school diploma, learning a trade or mastering English as a second language.</p><p>Some students will walk away with a nurse's license from the state board, or certified in some other industry like business, culinary arts or IT.</p><p>The eight or nine classes per semester will largely be geared to people who have lost their jobs, Bowden said: "When somebody is laid off, they use that as an opportunity to retrain."</p><p>Using North Port High School as a site will likely attract young people who aren't attending four-year colleges, said Allan Lane, the city's economic development manager.</p><p>"We're trying to retrain and retool our workforce so they'll be ready when the jobs are available," he said. "If we can get our young people trained for those skills, that means they're ready to go in the workforce a lot quicker. That's a good thing." </p><p><b>Drilling down, looking up</b></p><p>On a recent morning at the SCTI satellite campus in Newtown, Charles stood in front of a whiteboard doing math problems with her tutor Mark Morin looking over her shoulder.</p><p>Morin read a story problem that required Charles to calculate how much a man's restaurant tip was — it came to 12.5 percent</p><p>"He's so cheap. Don't go out with him!" joked Morin, 66, a retired IBM senior executive.</p><p>Charles laughed.</p><p>She spends 12 hours a week studying for her upcoming GED exam.</p><p>Around her, other volunteers — a retired teacher, a former pediatrician — tutored students one-on-one. Their muffled voices could be heard as Morin high-fived Charles when she answered a problem right.</p><p>The campus in Newtown, one of the poorest areas of Sarasota, is hardly glamorous.</p><p>The turquoise building on Osprey Avenue feels like a trailer with a narrow hallway and small classrooms separated by cubicles.</p><p>Some students are in their 40s and 50s; others are convicted felons who have trouble finding a job, especially in a down economy. </p><p>"Everybody comes here from educational backgrounds that are pretty much failures," Morin said.</p><p>This is a place for second chances.</p><p>The campus makes it easier for those who do not own a car or cannot afford gas instead of traveling to the institute's main campus, seven miles miles away, said Lorna Alston, the city's Newtown economic development coordinator.</p><p>"It's significant because it removes a barrier," Alston said.</p><p>Charles does not know exactly what her future holds after she takes her GED test in early December, but she knows she wants to be in charge.</p><p>"I want to be a supervisor instead of someone telling me what to do," she said.</p>